General Studies
Divisibility by 11 — Alternating digit sum: subtract sum of odd-position digits from even-position digits; if result is 0 or divisible by 11, the number is divisible by 11 (e.g., 121: 1-2+1=0).
VIBGYOR for Spectrum — Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red remembers visible light spectrum in order of increasing wavelength (violet shortest, red longest).
Latitudes Mnemonic — "Elephants Are Cute Creatures" = Equator (0°), Arctic Circle (66.5°N), Cancer (23.5°N), Capricorn (23.5°S) for major latitude lines.
pH Scale Quick Check — pH < 7 is acidic (like lemon), pH = 7 is neutral (water), pH > 7 is basic/alkaline (soap); each unit change = 10x difference in concentration.
Fundamental Rights (6 Categories) — "ERFCCP" = Equality, Religion, Freedom, Culture, Constitutional remedies, Property (deleted by 44th Amendment, now legal right only).
Directive Principles Articles — Articles 36-51 contain DPSP; remember "36-51 = Social Welfare Direction" to recall range; enforceable via Article 32 for Fundamental Rights, not DPSP.
Monsoon Direction — Summer monsoon (SW) = June-September brings rain; Winter monsoon (NE) = October-December, mostly dry except Tamil Nadu coast gets rain.
BODMAS Trap — Brackets, Orders (powers), Division/Multiplication (left-to-right), Addition/Subtraction (left-to-right); many get wrong by doing all multiplication before division.
Quit India Date Anchor — 8/8/42 (August 8, 1942) — symmetrical date makes it memorable; launched by Gandhi with "Do or Die" slogan in Bombay.
UN Security Council — "FRUCE + 10" = France, Russia, UK, China, USA are 5 permanent members (veto power) + 10 rotating non-permanent members (2-year terms).
Distance = Speed × Time Triangle — Cover "D" to get S×T; cover "S" to get D/T; cover "T" to get D/S — visual trick for formula manipulation.
Sangam Age Dynasties — "CCP" = Cheras (Kerala), Cholas (Kaveri), Pandyas (Madurai) — three ancient Tamil kingdoms ruling concurrent territories in South India.
General Knowledge of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Formation Date — 9-11-2000 (9th November 2000) as 27th state; remember "9-11" like the date format, carved from Uttar Pradesh after long statehood movement.
Five Major Glaciers — "Gang-Pi-Mi-Ka-Sa" = Gangotri (largest, 30km), Pindari, Milam, Kafni, Satopanth — these are most frequently asked glaciers in Uttarakhand exams.
Two Divisions Quick Recall — Kumaon (6 districts) + Garhwal (7 districts) = 13 total districts; Kumaon capital Nainital, Garhwal capital Pauri Garhwal for administrative purposes.
Char Dham Circuit — "BGKY clockwise" = Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri (but pilgrims traditionally go Yamunotri→Gangotri→Kedarnath→Badrinath, west to east).
State Animal-Bird-Tree — "MAB-MOR-BUJ" = Musk deer (Animal), Monal (Bird-state), Buransh/Rhododendron (Tree) — all three start with "M" or "B" for easy pairing.
Major Rivers Origin — "Ganga at Gaumukh (Gangotri glacier), Yamuna at Yamunotri glacier" — both originate within Uttarakhand, making it "Land of Rivers."
General Hindi
Sandhi Types (3 Main) — "SWV" = Swar Sandhi (स्वर), Vyanjan Sandhi (व्यंजन), Visarg Sandhi (विसर्ग) — three primary sandhi classifications in Hindi grammar.
Alankar Types — "SA" = Shabdalankar (शब्दालंकार - sound-based like अनुप्रास, यमक) + Arthalankar (अर्थालंकार - meaning-based like उपमा, रूपक) — two broad categories.
Samas Six Types — "ATDB-KBD" = Avyayibhav, Tatpurush, Dwandwa, Bahuvrihi, Karmadharay, Dwigu — six main compound word formations (समास के छह भेद).
Ras Count — "9+2=11" = Nine main rasas (Shringar, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Veer, Bhayanak, Bibhatsa, Adbhut, Shant) + 2 later additions (Vatsalya, Bhakti) = 11 total.
Reasoning and Mental Ability
Blood Relations: Generation Gap — Uncle/Aunt = Parent's sibling (1 up); Nephew/Niece = Sibling's child (1 down); Cousin = Uncle/Aunt's child (same level) — think vertical generations.
Clock Angle Formula — |30H - 5.5M| degrees gives angle between hands (H=hours, M=minutes); if >180°, subtract from 360° for acute angle.
Direction Sense: Turn Tracking — Right turn = clockwise (+90°), Left turn = anticlockwise (-90°); two rights = U-turn (180°); track cumulative angle from starting North=0°.
Calendar: Odd Days Method — Ordinary year = 1 odd day, Leap year = 2 odd days; 100 years = 5 odd days, 400 years = 0 odd days — speeds up day-finding calculations.
Coding Pattern Recognition — Check: letter shift (A+3=D), position value (A=1), reverse alphabet (A↔Z), or pattern like +1,+2,+3 across letters before solving entire problem.
Syllogism: Venn Diagram Method — Draw overlapping circles for each statement; only mark definite regions; conclusion must be 100% certain from diagram, not just possible.
Number Series: Difference of Differences — If first differences don't show pattern, check second differences (difference between differences) — often reveals +2, ×2, or square patterns.
Analogy Relationship Types — "TPSA-GCN" = Type/kind, Part/whole, Synonym/antonym, Action/object, Gender, Characteristic, Number — common relationship categories to check first.